Head of Project Delivery

We're hiring a Head of Project Delivery – Major Projects. Thames Water | £400m+ National Infrastructure Programme | Hybrid (London / South East)

Are you ready to deliver nationally significant infrastructure from concept to completion?

We’re looking for a Head of Project Delivery to take on full cradle-to-grave accountability for some of Thames Water’s most ambitious projects — including the Teddington Direct River Abstraction, a £400 million-plus Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project scheduled for delivery in 2033.

This is a unique opportunity to lead a significant component of Thames Water’s Strategic Resource Options Programme, with accountability from initial need definition to integration into business-as-usual operations.

What you’ll be doing

• Establish and continuously promote a proactive health, safety & environment culture across Thames Water and our service providers.
• Achieving leading-edge performance in safe and sustainable delivery of capital projects and their subsequent operation and maintenance.
• Delivering sustainable financial out-performance against approved budgets.
• Commercially managing all contract matters to achieve the optimal outcome for Thames Water.
• Developing and delivering an optimised programme to achieve all regulatory, statutory and internal outputs, deadlines and targets.
• Delivering successful technical solutions that provide optimal value for money on a capital and whole life cost basis.
• Performance managing the service providers to ensure out-performance of service levels and value for money.
• Ensure that the quality system and processes are complied with so that outcomes meet all standards.
• Leading a customer-focused culture, unrelenting in its pursuit of excellence in service delivery to both internal and external customers.
• Proactively ensuring every customer touch point is a positive experience to remember.
• Ensuring quality assured data, information and management reporting to meet the customer's needs.
• Maintain a strong external stakeholder relationship to protect and enhance Thames Water’s reputation with external customers.
• Managing, leading and developing people in a culture of accountability and achievement. Encourage and implement innovation throughout the supply chain to foster a culture of continuous improvement projects.

As part of this role, you will be required to be on-site and in the office 3 days a week as the business needs. 36 hours a week, Monday to Friday. Successful candidates should hold a valid driving licence and have access to transportation – this role does come with a £5.8k car allowance.

What you should bring to the role

• Educated to degree level with further professional/management qualifications or outstanding role-specific experience.
• Excellent contractual awareness of major Project Management work and contracts.
• A proven track record of managing the performance of third-party organisations.
• Track record of success in delivering significant capital Programmes at a senior level.
• Has proven process improvement design and implementation capability.
• Sets up and regularly implements feedback systems to improve business performance. Can deliver tough messages with empathy.
• Can demonstrate exposure to risk decisions with implications wider than their area.
• Has an up-to-date view about what the end-customer needs and can articulate trends in customer behaviour.
• Has taken on leadership responsibility in different functions/businesses and led through difficult times.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary from £88,000 to £110,000 per annum depending on the skills and experience of the successful candidate.
• This role will come with a car allowance of £5,800.
• 26 days holiday per year increasing to 30 with the length of service (Plus bank holidays).
• Annual Bonus.
• Private Medical Health Care.
• Contributory pension – Defined Contribution - Maximum of 12% -2x employee contribution.
• Personal Medical Assessments – Open to all once a year.
• Wider benefits scheme including our benefits hub, which is packed full of offers and information to save you money and support your wellbeing.

Who are we?

We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Learn more about our purpose and values

Working at Thames Water

Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy fast-tracked career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

Whether you’re interested in a role in one of our call centres or science labs, we’re looking for people like you with real passion and a burning desire to make things better.

So, if you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

Our overarching aim is to ensure that Thames Water is great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and offer extra support for those who need it throughout the recruitment process. Our aim is to remove any real or perceived barriers to success, so if you need assistance, we’re here to help and support.

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.